Cuernavaca Mexico Spanish Language Immersion School

INSTITUTO CHAC-MOOL
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Year Round Spanish Immersion School

Learn Spanish quickly. It's guaranteed!

To learn Spanish, we believe that active student participation is required. Instituto Chac-Mool GUARANTEES that all students will learn, or their money back. our policy

Our Adult Total Immersion Program

This is a tailored program designed to develop conversational fluency in the shortest time possible meeting the language needs of individuals regardless of their personal, study or professional interest .
Our Total Immersion program offers 10 different Spanish levels from beginning to advanced, including the Native Spanish Speaker program. If a student new to the school is tested with an ability level falling between 2 levels, Instituto Chac-Mool offers private Spanish instruction free of charge for 80 minute sessions (at the Director's discretion) to bring that student up to the next level.
Class orientation and placement testing will be given first thing on Monday morning. All students will be grouped by Spanish ability based on a brief written, auditory and oral placement test. Students will then be placed into the appropriate group of no more than 5 students.
Our courses begin every Monday throughout the year (ask about mid-week starts, outside of summer months). Students may want to study Spanish for as short as one week or as long as six months.
Students will receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of their course. College credit is also available for any number of weeks of study.

The Semi-Private Program

The special course offers the benefit of private instruction in which each student can concentrate on aspects of the language relevant to his/her particular demands, as well as group work so students can interact with other students with same level and language skills. This program offers an intensive oral and written Spanish practice through simulations involving real life situations in intercultural settings. It also includes vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and cultural information for the specific needs of the targeted professions. Professions include, but are not limited to, Medicine, Social Work, Law Enforcement, and Business. Please ask about classes for your specific needs.

The VIP & Private Spanish Programs

A one-on-one course is specifically designed for those who are looking for more individual attention or who need to cover the most in the shortest time possible. The One on One Course is a flexible program that allows students to choose the time, place and intensity of the teaching schedule. Courses can be full time or flexibly timed and start any day of the week. The course is interactive and task-based, using case studies, role-plays, formal presentations and simulations. Everything to be rapidly applied in your workplace. Rates are based on schedule and goals.
The important social, economic and cultural development of the majority of Spanish speaking countries, together with their continuing population growth, has led to an important and Hispanic presence in non-Hispanic countries. As a result, more and more professionals in such countries need to able to respond to the various cultural backgrounds of their clients. Conscious of this necessity, we offer an exclusive immersion program for CEO’s, executives, business professionals, diplomats and other professionals in general. ICM combines the excellence of an academic course with a program uniquely designed for each participant. The flexibility and effectiveness of our program allows our students to advance rapidly in areas specific to professional communication and communication on a daily basis.

Our Method and Instructors

At Instituto Chac-Mool we know that Sheltered Instruction and the Natural Approach are the best ways to acquire a foreign language. This approach allows students to learn to communicate faster, as there is more stress on communication skills and conversational fluency, as opposed to strictly learning the grammatical structure of the language. Learning is active and interactive at Instituto Chac-Mool, students are not just spoken to, but are an active part of the learning process.

According to Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition, "language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill". All of the instructors at Instituto Chac-Mool have been extensively trained in the theories developed by Krashen, and that of the Seven Intelligences.

Gardner's Theory of Seven Intelligences states that everyone is born possessing the seven intelligences. Nevertheless, all students will come into the class with different sets of developed intelligences. Instituto Chac-Mool instructors are trained to determine each individuals primary set of intelligences, in other words, how each student will learn best. This individualized evaluation will allow the teacher to make more informed decisions how to best present information to each student in the group.

Instituto Chac-Mool carefully selects only the most qualified individuals to teach. All instructors have college degrees and are native speakers. Prior to beginning the six month teacher's training course, applicants are first tested to determine their appropriateness as possible instructors. At the end of training, instructors are tested again, and only those passing the rigorous test are selected as Chac-Mool instructors.

What We Uniquely Offer at ICM

One-on-One Tutoring: Sign up each morning for an optional 20 minute session to clear up any doubts about the language, or simply to fortify your Spanish. There is no additional charge for this instruction.
Taller Bilingue: Tuesday & Thursday (approx. 30 min.) In a group setting a teacher will explain a different Spanish grammatical point each day after school, for all students who feel they would benefit.
Culture Program: Instituto Chac-Mool has completely computerized the Culture Program to include wide-screen projection of images and state-of-the-art technology for implementation of the program. We also offer a cultural excursions on Saturday plus, during the summer months, on Sunday.
Native Speaker Classes: This language course focuses on teaching individuals who may have learned Spanish in the home, but may not use the language correctly. Emphasis on reading, writing, and proper communication.

As we are a small school, Instituto Chac-Mool can offer the Spansh student an intimate environment in which to study, and to get to know the other students and staff. We understand that each student has special needs and interests; one of our strongest points is that we have the flexibility to personalize our Spanish program to tailor-fit each student according to these needs. We also believe that if a student lives and has an understanding of the culture of Mexico, it is much easier to acquire the Spanish language.

Personalized attention
Pleasant, low-anxiety atmosphere
Well-prepared staff with university level education
A complete culture component, with manuals and audio cassette, embedded within your Spanish language program

School Holidays

Classes at Instituto Chac-Mool are not offered on the following holidays, however the rest of the week will have an extended schedule to make up the missed time (charlas, talleres and consultas will be suspended that week to accommodate the longer class time).

February 4, 2008 * Constitution Day

March 21, 2008 Benito Juarez Birthday

May 1, 2008 Labor Day

September 16, 2008 Dia de Independencia

November 17, 2008* Revolution of 1910

December 25, 2008 Christmas

January 1, 2009 New Years Day

* these dates are Monday so classes begin on Tuesday of these weeks.

Instituto Chac-Mool Spanish Schools
Privada de la Pradera #108 Colonia Pradera
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico 62170

(do not send payments to Mexico address, please ask for U.S. address)